Automatic schedule regulator for dispatching systems



Nov. 23 1926.

ML .1- FINNEGAN AUTOMATIC SCHEDULE REGULATOR FOR DISPATCHING SYSTEMSFiled Jan. 8, 1926 uh R INVENTOR ATTORN EY reams noses, 926.

cairn srars MARTIN 3. L INNEGAN, GE NEW YORK, Ell. iii, ASEIGI NGER TELEVA'EQR SUPELIES 530311- lPMlY, ENG, 0F HOBOKEN, HEWY JERSEY, AGOBPQRATION GE HEW JERSEY.

AUTOMATIU fiCHEDULE- REGULATWEL 150E DESPATGEIHG application filedii'annary 18, 1953 3. serial .rt'o. 31,998.

This invention relates to dispatching systerns and. particularly todispatching sys tems for elevators for use inbui-ldings hav- 7 in alarge number of elevators and consic erable tratlic. It is. the object.of this invention to provide as an additional feature of a system inwhichqcarsor other moving bodies are dispatched automatically inacordance with a predetermined schedule, means for adjusting andregulating the interval between the starting of the various cars andfurther :to do this automatically,

thereby eliminating 'thenecessity of having one or more attendants forthis purpose. f'

in this connection means are provided whereby when the trathc is lightthe cars will be dispatched on a comparatively-slow schedule, and whenthe trafiic is heavy the cars will be dispatched on a comparatively lastschedule; intermediate schedule speeds.

. being provided, if desired, for intermediate degrees or trafiic.

Specifically stated, when my novel apparatus is applied to thedispatching oi elevators, it will produce this efiect'rWhen there arepassengers waiting to be carried in either direction at an arbitrarynumber of doors, for example three or less, the cars will be dispatchedwith a certain predetermined interval tsay, for example, 120 seconds)between the starting of successive cars; when there are passengerswaiting to be carried in either direction at a number of floors rangingbetween 3 and 6, the cars will be dispatched with a smaller interval,say 100 seconds; when there are passengers waiting at a number of floorsranging from 6 to '9,

thestarting interval will be reduced to, say,

seconds; and so on, until a minimum starting interval (that re, amaximum schedule speed) is reached.

Thus it will be seen that the effect isto provide a flexible'dispatchingsystem which will automatically accommodate itself to the many changesin traffic conditions which commonly occur during the course of a day inthe modern elevator-equipped buildings of anyconsiderable height.

My invention consists in providing electrical apparatus for performingthe work of the attendant'so as to obtain an almost imperceptibleflexibility and at the same time remove the human factor heretoforerelied upon for adjusting the schedule.

My invention is capable of application to any of the well-known types oielevator signal systems (such as shown in patents to Smalley &-lteiners, Numbers 634,220 and 826,752, and patents to Collett Numbers,

with means for causing a signal to be displayed in response to thepushing of such button or other signal means.

Dther objects, features and adaptations will he made apparent as thedescription progresses, reference being had to the accompanymg drawings,which show diagrammatlcally t e parts comprising my novel apparatus.

In the drawings Figure 1 shows schematically my novel apparatus inconnection with such parts of an ordinary signal system as are operatedtherewith. Figure 2 shows a'portion of a common type of signalingmechanism to which my invention is readily applied. Fig. 3 shows acommon type of car dispatching device.

in the drawing, reference character 1 designates an electric motoradapted to rotate at a predetermined constant speed, thereby operatingthru contacts (shown in Fig. 3) starting and timing signals for thevarious cars in a predetermined sequence. The op eration of timingsignals thru a motor and contacts of this type is well known in the art,the more common types being shown in patents to Perine #9,998,034,Meyers #1,156,610 and Boardman #1211556.

in thearmature circuit of motor 1 is the ordinary resistance unit 2havingv a movable contact 3'. The purpose of this resistance, of course,is to provide means for varying the speed of motor 1. At certainintervals along the resistance unit 2 are placed terminals 4, 5 and 6 towhich conductors 7, 8 and 9 are connected -for a purpose which willappear hereinafter.

Numerals 20 to 31 indicate contact devices, shown here as mercury pots,which, as will be seen by an inspection of Figure 2', are controlled bymeans of series of armatures, the armature for mercury. pot 20 beingshown at 14 in Figure 2. Armature 14 is asv sociated with a magnet 15which, when energiz ed, attracts the same to withdraw contact- 16 fromthe niercuryf Magnet 17 has associated therewith an armature 18 whichisattracted by the energizing of magnet 17 but which normally is urgedto the position shown in Figure 2 by .spring 19. In this position it isobvious that armature 14 is locked out of contact making position byarmature 18. The circuit to magnet 17 is controlled by means ofa pushbutton, thev contacts for which are indicated at 32in Figure 2. Thismechanism is well known, -1n the art of signaling and is shown and de- Apast which. the elevators are adapted" to travel, it being understoodthat similar buttons and similar'mechanism are provided for each of themercury pots shown in Fig. 1, there being one complete mechanism foreach floor; When a passenger. wishes to signal the elevators he pressesthe up or down push button, making one or the other of the contacts 32and 33, according to the direction in which he desires to go. Closing ofcontacts 32 causes the energizing of magnet 17 which thereby attractsits armature, allowing armature 14 to descend by gravity, completing acircuit thru the contact of finger 16 with the mercury. Th s circuitcauses (either immediately or at a certain point in the routine runningof some car) a signal to be disla'yed, usually a flashlight such as theone 1nd1cated at 40 in Fig. 1, this being the sig-- nal that a passengeris waiting at the corresponding floor. Similarly such a signal isprovided for each floor as indicated. So

. are displayed a circuit much of the mechanism is, as I have indicated,quite common in the art, consequently further description will bedispensed with. My invention will now be'described:

Connected in parallel with signals 40 to 51' are resistance units to 71respectively, so that whenever any of the signals 40 to 51 will also bemade thru the corresponding resistance unit, as for example, a circuitfrom conductor 72, thru mercury pot 20, conductor 73, resistance unit60,-conductor 74, winding of relay" winding of relay 75, conductor 76,windi of relay 77, conductor 78, winding of relay 9, thence thruconductor back to the other side of the line. Relays 75, 77 and 79 haveassociated therewith armatures 85, 87 and 89 normally held in theposition shown in Figure. 1 by springs 95, 97 and 99 respectively. isadapted to attract its armature when a certain value of current ispassed thru the 75, conductor .7 6,

75 to attract ture is in the manner 'termin'ed Each of these relayswinding thereof. However the current necessary to enable'relay 79to'attract' its armature 89 is less than that necessary for relay 77 toattract its armature. Furthermore, the current necessary for'relay 77 toattract its armature is less than that necessary for relay ing broughtabout, of course, by the manner of winding the various relays.

Let us suppose for example that thecurrent necessary to cause relay 79to attract its armature 89 against the tension of spring 99 is the sumof the currents passing thru resistances 60, 61- and 62v (or any otherthree resistance units), it being intendedthat all of these units are ofequal value. Let us -further supposethat the currentnecessary for relay77 toattract its armature is-that passed thru six of these resistancesconnected as shown andthat the current necesjcause relay 7 b to attractits armae the current passed thrugnin'e of these resistance units whenIbircuits are made therethrough n the manner indisary to cated. Withthis supposition inmind the operation will be'seen to be aslfollows:

Suppose passengers. on the floors corresponding to mercury pots .20,22-and 24 have pressed buttonssignifying their in tention to be picked-.up.f- Circu ts will accordingly be made thru lamps 40,42 and 44heretofore described and also thru resistance units 60, 62 and 64. Theresult will'be that the magnetic attraction set up in relay 79 will besufiicient to attract its armature 89 thereby causing its armature, thiscondition be-- the circuit to the motor 1 to passas-fol-- lows 1' p p"Thru conductors 101- and 102, contacts 'made by armature 89, conductor7, that por- 'tlon of resistance unit '2 lying between contact 4 andcontact arm 3, theme thru the armature winding and back to the otherside of the line leading to a'high voltage source of current. Beforesuch attraction ofarmature 89 took place, of course, .the

that portion of the resistance lying between contact 4 and contact 10will be'cut out of the armaturecircuit and'the speed. of motor l will beincreased by a certain predeamount,: thereby causing the dispatchingsignals ,110" and 111 operated by said motor to;be"*fspeeded up, the purose being to cause inore'rapid-movement o the cars than that whichexisted when there were fewer waiting-passenger signals. Similarly letus suppose that all of the signals from 40 to 45 inclusive are now to beoperated.- This will cause current to be passed thru each'of theresistances 60 to 65 Inclusive, which will bring the value of currentthru armature passed. thruxthe en the current passing thru winding ofrelay 77 to a value sufficient to cause the attraction of armature 87.This will cause the circuit to motor 1 to pass as follows 'Thruconductors 101, 103 and 104, contacts operated by armature 87,conductor8,

that portion of resistance'2 lying betweencontact 5 and contactarm 3,armature of motor 1, thence back to the other side of the line. Theeffect will be to again reduce the amount of resistance in thearmaturecircuit and again cause a speeding up of motor 1.

Now-let us furthersuppose that nine or more of the signals are placed inoperating condition at one time. The result will be that not onlyarmatures 87 to 89 will be attracted, jbut armature 85 will also beattracted, causing the circuit to motor 1 to pass as 'follows: a l

Thru conductors 101 and 103, contacts operated by armature 85, conductor89, that portion of resistance unit included between contacts 6 andcontact arm 3, thence thru armature 1 back to the other side of theline. In this'manner a speed greaterthan any so far produced will beadded, thereby necessitating a maximum speed on the part of theelevators in orderto cope with the increased traflic as indicated by thelarge number of waiting passenger signals. It will thus be seen that adispatching system is produced which automatically accommodates itselfto allconditions of traffic;- it

being obvious that as the traflic decreases (as indicated by thecanceling of the waiting passenger signals 40 to 51 due to thewithdrawal of the associated mercury pot'contacts) the reverseoperations to those just take place, and in the reverse order.

It is to be understood that when more than one of the contacts operatedby armatures 85, 87 and 89 are mad efthe circuit to motor 1 will passthru the. contact associated with the higher'c'urrent relay, (just asdescribed above) since the circuit traceable therethrough constitutesthe path of least resistance. 1

In Fig. 3 I have shown asimple means of causing the operation ofstarting signals for the cars at predetermined intervals thru theinstrumentality' of a pair o'f contact makers 109 and 1'12 fixed toaidisc which is made to revolve slowly through suitable gearing to themotor- 1. Thesecontacts'opcrate the starting. bells 110""and111. Thisparticular embodiment is"the" invention of George H. Rowe,and is claimedhim, in Letters Patent No; -1',,230,434,i'zr'anted June 10, 1917-, andserves very well to illustrate my invention isjre'a'dily applied;

It 1 is to be understood that various changes may be made in'therelative ar- 1 conventional form of dispatcher, to which rangement,construction, and mechanical operation of the parts without departmgfrom the spirit of my invention. Furtheu more, while my automaticschedule regulating means will probably find its most apparent utilityin connection with the dis patching of elevators, I do not limit myselt'to such a plication, as other uses and adaptations might readily occurto those skilled in the art of dispatching moving bodies.

' Accordingly, I limit myself only by the scope of my invention asdisclosed herein and as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an elevator signalling system, a plurality of elevators, callingsignals for each elevator, means controlled from the various floors forplacing sa d signals in indicating conditlrn, startmg signals for sandelevators,

'means for operating said starting signals said magnetic devicesselectively each in dependence upon a different number of callingsignals placed in indicating condition.

3. In an elevator signalling system, a plurality of elevators,c'allingslgnals for each elevator, means controlled from the variousfloors for placing said calling signals in indicating condition,starting signals for said elevators, means for operatin vsaid startingsignals in succession at 'pre etermined intervals comprisingv anelectric motor, means for-varying the speed of said electric motrTrcomprising a plurality of excitation circuits for said electric motor,each including.

means to operate said motor at a different speed, and means for closingsaid excitation circuits selectively and in dependence upon thenumber'of calling signals placed in indicating condition.

4.-In an elevator signalling system, a

plurality 0i elevators, calling signals there-.

for, meanscontrolled from the variousfloors for placing said signals inindicating condition, starting signals -for said elevators,-

means for operating said starting signals in succession at predeterminedintervals, means for varying the -speed of said operating means, andmeans for controlling said lastn'amed means in accordance with thevariation in the number-of unanswered calling signals previously placedin indicating condition bythe means herein set forth, said controllingmeans comprising means operated selectively each in dependence upon adiflerent number'of 'saidfloor controlled means placed in operatingcondition, said means remaining in operation as long as said calllngsignals remain unanswered.

5. In an elevator signaling system, a.

means foroperating said starting signals in. succession at predeterminedintervals, means for varying the speed of said operating means, andmeans for controlling said lastnamed means 111 accordance with thevariatlon 1n the number of unanswered calling signals previously placedin indicating condition by the means herein set forth, said controllingmeans comprising resistance units operable by the means for placing thecalling signals in indicating condition, an electro-magnetic' device incircuit with saidresistance units,and means operable to actuate'saidspeed varying means-so as to efiect a change in the speed of said signaloperating means, 1

-6. an -.ellevator signaling system, a plurality of elevators, callingsignals therefor, means controlled from the various floors for placingsaid signals in indicating condition, starting signals for saidelevators," means ior operati'ng said starting signals insuccession atpredetermined intervals, means for varying the speed a plurality of.

by said electro-magnetic device means, and means for controlling saidlastnamed means in accordance with the variation in the number ofunanswered calling signals previously placed in indicating condition bythe means therein set forth, said controlling means comprising aplurality of electric circuits, a resistance unit in-each circuit,another circuit connecting said lastnam'ed circuits, relay meansoperable upon the passage of a predetermined amount of current thru saidconnecting 'circuit to operate said speed varying means in response tothe operation ofa predetermined numberjofsaid resistance units.

7. Apparatus as in claim 6, wherein the meansfor varying the speed ofsaid signal operating means comprises aplurality of excitation circuits,means in each of said excitation circuits for causing said signaloperatingmeans to operate. at a speed different from the speed producedby the oper ation of any other'of said excitation circuits, and whereinsaid relay means comprises a plurality of'means each operable uponpassage of a different predetermined amount of current through said,connecting circuit to close one of said excitation circuits,

Signed at Hoboken, N. J. this 15th day of January, 1926v MARTIN J.INNEGAN,

of said ope'rating

